The first time I heard that quote, I remember having to pause a few moments before I could really digest it's meaning. I thought back on what history considered to be truly great men and I would certainly have to agree that, due to some of the decisions they made, they were hardly going to be remembered as good men. The resignation of Gov. Elliot Spitzer yesterday reminded me of that very thing. While he was detested by most corporate types, he all too frequently was reveared by the common man because of his willingness to take on the giants of industry and hold them accountable for a great many misdeeds. He certainly wasen't right all of the time, but finding somebody that was so bold and so willing to put himself on the line time after time is indeed rare, particularly in this dollar ruled society that we have built.
I look at the mans deeds and compare them to his sins and I wonder if the punishment truly suits the crime. His guilt isn't much further than a former head of state we all knew and watched drag the nation through many painful months, but with Elliot that was something different, something more. Perhaps it was the fact that he didn't try to lie or try to put the blame on somebody, ANYBODY else but himself. Or maybe it was the fact that he simply stood up and admited what he did, then shocked us by again doing the right thing and resigning. You may not approve of his actions but it's hard to argue with the man's sense of integrity and fair play. He screwed up, got caught, admitted it, and in the end he did the right thing. I find it hard not to like a man that shows such courage, particularly when he has spent the better part of his career fighting against that very thing that lead to his demise.
He says he will never again serve in a public position, but for that I offer my protest. We need more honest politicians and while Elliot's behavior wasen't exactly stellar, he certainly didn't sell out his country or steal from the poor to line his own pockets. He secumed to that all too common sin that a hell of a lot of us fall victum to. I'm not defending his actions, I'm just saying that in a world where we, the citizens of this country, are getting sold out by damn near every political figure, every lawyer, every judge, every person that can stick their hand into our proverbial pocket, here's a guy that, when the chips were down, made the right decision for everybody involved. And when he could have just said goodbye and done a quick exit, stage right .... he put the needs and request of his replacement again, ahead of himself and agreed to stay on through the weekend in order to insure an orderly transfer of power.
He reminds me a bit of the life of Gary Francis Powers. Do you remember him? The U-2 pilot that was shot down over Russia back in the early days of the cold war. He was ridiculed because he broke under torture and told the limited information he had, to his captors. They knew it already but were able to make great political "hay" at our expense. When Powers was returned in a spy swap he disappeared off the radar screen, forever shamed because of that incident. He managed to squeek out a living flying a news/weather helicopter out in California and one day, when the bird went into a catostrophic failure, he could have autorotated into a school yard of kids and saved his own skin; but in those last moments he choose to seal his fate by rolling it over into an empty building. Like Elliot, at the crutial moment when it would have been easier to save his own skin, he sacraficed himself for the greater good. This kind of personal redemption is certainly rare and even more so when it's put on public display.
I can only hope that if I ever find myself in as terrible a situation as what we have witnessed, I'll have the strength and integrity to do that right thing too. That's the kind of personal courage and integrity I wouldn't mind being remembered for ....
The second world war called some 16 million into the service to defend the country, but on that fateful day, commonly remembered as D-Day, we took our first steps to gain a foothold in Europe. I saw my share of combat in the military but reading the accounts and seeing the footage of what happened on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno & Sword beaches will stop even the bravest man dead in his tracks. To land on a beach and advance hundreds of yards over open, empty beach in small groups of men, hoping to make it to some cover, through withering machine gun fire ….. well I stand in awe and tremendous respect. Call it bravery, foolishness, raw courage, fear … whatever you call it, those are men that every single American should bow our heads as they walk by.
How do you pay the appropriate tribute to that kind of courage, to that kind of sacrifice? Ronald Regan gave a fantastic speech commonly known as “The boys of Pointe du Hoc” but as great an orator as he was, there is still a great void to be filled. The boys of Pointe du Hoc were those brave American Rangers that assaulted the cliff face to seize the gun positions that are so well displayed in many different movies. “The Longest Day” was probably one of the better movies that attempted to portray what that first day was all about. “Saving Private Ryan” did a little better job in capturing the horror, fear, and everything else that happened on that beach.
We Americans have very short memories. We allow politics, greed, and our own petty wants and desires to drive our daily lives. I thank God that on that morning of June 6th, so many men were focused on that one objective; to establish the foothold on the edge of Europe, perhaps not realizing the enormity of their accomplishment. If we could just recapture those feelings and use them every day of our lives and remember how important democracy is as it was to those young men and women that fought that day and all the days afterwards that helped to win the day and win the war.
It may be impossible for me as with others to really understand that day, but we can certainly understand it’s importance because, thanks to the success of those young men, we remain a free country where democracy thrives. We may very well complain bitterly about the current condition of our American experience, but we should thank God or whom every your belief structure promotes, that there still are young men and women that will answer the call to arms and fight to defend freedom and our American way of life.
To all my fellow veterans, young and old, I salute you!
Like him or loth him, agree or disagree, compliment or complain, one thing even the harshest critic must admit is that this president appears to have a soul. Never in modern times have we had a president that will open himself up to interspection and reflection in the eyes of the American public. It has been a very long time since a President urged us to pay attention and listen to the words of a critique, a heckler and someone that would appear to be a foe. Yet, he has done that on more than one occasion.
There will be many voices and opinions on tonight’s one hour delivery by the president and not a lot of agreement but one thing appears certain to me. This leader has a soul. He isn’t afraid to ponder how history will treat him, yet he doesn’t seem to let it affect his judgment. In the eyes of the businessman he is a villain and in the eyes of the poor and needy, he is the savior many have been waiting for. Many want to believe in him, but his missteps can often make it difficult.
One thing is for certain. Be he right or wrong, he certainly is his own man and sticks to his guns no matter how unpopular, and dosen’t make excuses for his opinions, no matter how radical they might appear to be. We often refer to 2nd term presidents as lame ducks, but the flip side to that is that they are free to press the point and fight for what they believe in. After all, with no 3rd term as a possibility, what do they have to lose? His willingness to try to offer an olive branch to Muslims impressed me; not because it was for Muslims but because it was to a perceived enemy and that he was not willing to follow the lead of past presidents and send large groups of innocent people to internment camps just to easy public fears.
My own opinion of the man has diminished from the first time he was elected. In the beginning I was impressed by his willingness to take on the system, make tough decisions, even to admit it when he blew it. Since that time he has been forced to bow to different requirements, but what President hasn’t or doesn’t? Unfortunately, history will remember him as the man that just never could be an effective politician and pull both sides together as Ronald Regan famously did time after time.
A president must represent the people … all of them, not just one or two special classes. This president has tried but has also been quite stubborn at times to the point of losing the support of his own party simply because he let his feelings get in the way of good political judgment. I used to think he would figure it out but have since realized that he’s just being the man that he is and in a different time and place he could easily be painted as a hero.
History will judge him and determine just how good he was, but one thing is for sure; history will note that for better or worse, he certainly did things the way he wanted to, and in some circles that is highly admired. Part of me wonders if, in his later years, he will take on more of a Jimmy Carter kind of motif where we will see a far better elder statesman, or will he slip into isolation like Richard Nixon and limit his public exposure.
His greatest legacy may only be that he opened the door of the presidency anyone, regardless of their color, creed, or national origin. That would be a bit of a shame, but then again, old “42” did the same thing and folks, that remains even today as a pretty significant piece of history. I don’t like you Mr. President, but I do respect you and what you have tried to achieve. For now I’m ready for your replacement, but as time goes on, perhaps I’ll grow a bit wiser and see the wisdom of some of your decisions. One thing is for sure, you have a number of qualities I would like to see in all our future presidents, but then again, so has each before you; so we’ll leave it up to those Historians.
We learned it in the Cub Scouts, and again in the Boy Scouts, and yet again in the Sea Scouts, and if that was not enough, it was preached nearly daily in the military. It makes you wonder just exactly what does it take for us to take such things to heart? But no matter how dedicated we are, nothing can really prepare you for the afternoon surprise that Moore Oklahoma got on Monday.
Whether we blame it on global warming or just the way we hold our mouth, the fact is that these things happen and tornadoes are certainly nothing new to Oklahoma. It does cause you to wonder why anyone would build a house in such areas that did not have a basement, but meeting the needs of prospective buyers and not having a government that is too overbearing … well, you get the point.
It is, yet another one of those things that we all wish there was an answer, perhaps THE answer, but then again that would be expecting mother nature, God, and any other host of things or people we ask the “why me” question to have an answer. Some things simply cannot be planned or protected against without an intrusion upon our rights. Let’s face it, too many of us look to the Government to solve our problems when, like some other issues of the day, they simply cannot or should not.
Once again, it falls to us, every citizen to take the necessary steps and put the needed corrections into place and once again, that starts with simple education. Teaching our children not to depend upon the government for every little tiny thing, but to be willing to stand up and take a high degree of responsibility for the decisions we make as well as their eventual outcome. We can’t pass the buck to the Federal Government, State Government, our churches, schools, etc, etc. We have to start this at home, talking to our children and reminding them that the benefits of living in a free country start with each of us being willing to stand up and be accountable.
The folks in Oklahoma have dealt with the issues of Tornado’s for a very long time. The South has become the new tornado alley and they will have to adjust their way of thinking and make lots of changes and preparations if they are to survive these constant storms. The bottom line is that there is no free lunch, no guarantee’s, and no matter how hard you try, it will always be possible to do everything right, and still lose.
For the past six months I have watched my older sister slowly deteriorate from the debilitating conditions of lung and esophageal cancers. As they slowly close off her airway she suffocates a little more each and every breath. While the combination of pain killers and breathing treatments helps her battle, we both know the eventual outcome; it’s just a shame nobody could convince her 50 years ago that smoking was a bad idea.
We are all dying, just at different rates. There will come a time when each of us escapes our broken bodies and goes ….. wherever your particular belief structure suggests you will go; but having go so slowly and painfully just doesn’t seem right to me which is one of the reasons I guess I support those that feel we should each have a say in our final months, weeks, days, hours …. To be able to say “OK, I have battled this as far as I can, now I want the right to decide how it will end”.
Oh, I could probably give her the entire jar of morphine and put her our of her misery and the way hospice is structured, nobody would be the wiser …. But I would know. I would know that at that last fleeting moment when the final act much be performed, it was my decision and not hers. No matter how merciful I might think it is, only she can decide if and when she is ready, if at all.
Having been clinically dead on two occasions I must unfortunately report that there was no bright light, enchanting music, the smell of fresh cookies, or any of those things we hear about. Of course there was also no terror of damnation, raging fires or unspeakable monsters. It was more like walking into a bright room and the light flicking off. Darkness, silence, and not warm or cold … just stillness without sensation.
So I sit with her, often holding her hand and telling her funny stories about what our lives were like while we were growing up. Sometimes she manages a smile between those coughing fits. She reminds me that she wants to just go to sleep and now wake up. Sometimes she asks where I put her horse (hasn’t had one in over 20 years) and then cries because neither one of her boys have come to see her.
So many emotions, feelings, and all that goes with it. I see it all in her face, but there in her eyes is that little look that she only gives me for being the only one that didn’t abandoned her and has stuck by her side.
I can only hope that before it is my turn, there will be someone like that for me ….. I can only hope …..
I remember the first time I read a classified document that, in summary, discussed the US battle plans for the invasion of Canada. I was shocked, appalled, and mortified that we would even consider such a move until I made it to the part of the briefing that stated this was a contingency plan based on the possible occupancy of Soviet troops and recapturing the real estate to benefit the Canadians. Oh … now it made sense and as I learned more and more about some of our plans that, on the surface, looked dreadful, I soon understood the benefit of having a government and military that dared to think the unthinkable.
I have been pondering the same thing on the recently re-disclosed memo from the Executive Branch on the possibility o f use of unmanned drones (armed) to kill US Citizens within the borders of the US. I have been trying to rationalize this based upon a wide number of scenario’s but on this one I am stuck. I could get past the idea of having to shoot down a civilian aircraft that was on a terrorist mission to do God only knows what, despite how uncomfortable it makes me. But having an unmanned aircraft cruising the skies of the US, possible with weapons on board and no human at on board controls seems to be going over the line. Not knowing where that pilot is located or even if he is a citizen, properly vetted, or if he has operational control or …. Well, I think you get the point. More and more universities are fielding graduates of these remote flight capabilities and quite a few are working with contractors in the middle east on what are certainly military missions.
The line of responsibility, command & control is getting a bit too blurred for my taste and the thought of having an unmanned vehicle that is supposed to be just inspecting power lines, possibly being armed “just in case” is not only a real possibility, but one that is already being explored by mission critical elements of the military. The CIA already operates within the boarders of the US, a clear violation of previous doctrine so what will prevent them from doing the same with drones, not to mention the possible attacks on US Citizens that are “suspected” terrorists, subversives, or just your ordinary rotten kid knocking over the neighbors mailbox at night. Open that door will most certainly invite abuse of the system is more ways that we can possibly imagine.
As screwy as it may sound, I am starting to understand the mindset of a guy like Ted Kruzinskie and his railings against technology. Perhaps it’s just my age or perhaps it’s the knowledge of so many little Government projects that “would never evolve that way”, yet have. Or maybe it’s simply understand that Power Corrupts & Absolute Power Absolutely Corrupts, but I don’t see the good in this new recommended technological advancement. I do see one heck of a lot of opportunity for it to be used to control the masses by silently eliminating anyone that speaks out against the government.
Please don’t tell me it can never happen. If you want to sell that bag of fertilizer, please start by explaining to all the illegally interned American Citizens that just happen to have been former citizens of Japan that we were just kidding to any of the other nationalities that we have persecuted in the name of peace and national security over the decades.
This one just spells of way too much socialistic control and government intrusion. Oh yes, and by the way, that memo made no mention of the government having to go through a Federal Court to obtain a judges permission to kill American Citizens, just the DOD’s lawyers opinions about how and why it’s legal without any form of democratic protections for your rights. Hmmmmmmm ………
In the newly heated up debates on how best to protect our children in school, the proposal to put an armed police officer in every school certainly has caused another surge of opinions, arguments and passionate replies. I must admit that initially I thought it was an overly expensive idea that was simply an overreaction, but there are certain positive aspects that deserve consideration and discussion.
When I was a child we always looked forward to career day when “Mr. Policeman” would show up. Sometimes with his K-9 buddy, sometimes with that big gun and often with examples of those pills and things that we were supposed to avoid and go get an adult to take care of the “situation”. We enjoyed the policeman and no doubt, a neck of a lot of us wanted to grow up to be just like him. In todays schools we don’t see enough of that and as we grow into adulthood, or respect for the police and other law enforcement professionals is certainly on the decline. Some there fault, some ours, but plenty of blame to go around.
So, I’m thinking that putting a police officer that is specially trained in community policing and understands the importance of building good relationships, one student at a time, into every school, we might be sowing the seeds of greater respect and understanding between our law enforcement personnel and every youngster. The policeman doesn’t need to sit around …. If they can become an active member of the school community, that with their sheer presence will help every school in many more ways than we can imagine and perhaps the next former student will think twice about going back to their school to do some kind of harm.
There are no guarantees and proving the program’s success will take decades, but I can’t help but think that any positive approach to promoting one of the more important roles within our society has got to be good for the kids, the community, and the country as a whole. And let’s not forget that in case of emergency, most police are trained in CPR, basic medical reaction, have a radio to immediately summon help, and with that big gun, the capability to take down the bad guys or at least buy more of those precious minutes for a lot more policemen to arrive and render assistance.
Yep, I’d have to say this idea is a win/win. Certainly it’s going to cost a little more, but when you look at the long term benefits …. This one looks like a sure fire good investment in the community!
As we sat in horror, watching the news reports and then the president speak of the horrible shooting in Newtown, Connecticut the question of “why” certainly has to be on a lot of people’s minds. There will be the usual demands for all sorts of hopeful solutions from gun control, better training for … everyone you can imagine, possibly even the call for everyone to have some kind of built in GPS tracking device. The extent will be limitless.
But the real focus needs to be back on “why”. This country was born out of violence and has had a history of it. Violence and the knowledge throughout the world of our violent capabilities is one of the reasons our countries growth, survival, and in some cases success. But, there is a distinct difference between the violence seen on a battle field and in the pursuit of law & order and the kind of violence we are seeing in far too many young people. Kids are being taught that violence is a natural reaction to problems. They are surrounded by it; on television, in video games, acting out with their frinds, etc. In fact more than a few parents send their kids to all sorts of self-defense classes just to give them a fighting chance against school bullies, among other threats.
I remember a study my son did for a school paper once that looked at the percentage of the population that accepted killing. It spanned a period of some one hundred years, ever increasing with each event starting back before the civil war. The conditioning over the years has grown as the size and complexity of the events have grown. Unfortunately, during this period, some kind of large scale, intense educational effort has not followed so the children still grow up thinking it’s natural, perhaps even expected. As a boy I used to go rabbit hunting with my father. It was about the only time I was allowed to handle a gun and I handled it with great care and respect. I don’t remember how I learned that because he didn’t exactly teach me but I knew the rules and I followed them. During high school and college I kept those rules, even when I bought my own .22 rifle for target shooting. I knew that care had to always be taken and I did. Even when I entered the Army where killing is a craft one learns to protect themselves as well as vanquish the enemy, there was an understanding that this surrounded a necessity, not just killing for the perceived joy of killing.
We are not the position of having the privilege of declaring ourselves a pacifist state. Current events and future responsibilities have already eliminated that option; but we in a position to start working on changing attitudes and teaching everyone the need to respect life and not to take it arbitrarily. We don’t have to eliminate all firearms, but we do need to ask a few intelligent questions.
Handgun control only demonstrated that the criminal could get their hands on guns while private citizens could not and made everyone a little more vulnerable. Having a gun does even the playing field, but when is enough too much? Teaching our children to respect life is essential, but so is teaching them to be able to stand up to defend themselves.
If the Executive & Legislative branches are going to try to tackle this issue, we need to insist them tackle the entire issue. We must insist them look at not only weapons, but include entertainment, social media, peer pressure, civil resource and much, much more. We’re talking about turning our world upside down and shaking out all the bad. Somehow I believe the framers of the constitution may have thought a bit about this, but I doubt they considered we would have a society where children witness over 100,000 murders before the age of 16 and now with their games, probably commit at least that many well before that 16th birthday.
Good luck to all of us!
I started writing an Op-Ed on the Right to Work when I stumbled across a name I had forgotten, but pleasantly was reminded of. Gordon Sinclair was an interesting figure in Canadian history who’s single brightest moment may have been his broadcast on June 5, 1973 that was simply titled “The Americans”. It is one of the few truly honest and sincere recognitions of the power and decency of the American people. At the time of the broadcast the country was in some financial shambles, political upheaval, and had about every imaginable reason to be embarrassed in the eyes of the world; but this brave Canadian took off the gloves and blasted the rest of the world, including a few comments about his fellow Canadians to let them know how he really felt, and the country responded with a great deal of gratitude.
So, if you’re too young or just never heard this broadcast, I would suggest you dial it up. I found it at the web site:
where you can read the text or hear the actual broadcast. It’s never failed to bring tears to my eyes and make me proud to fly the flag or proclaim myself an American.
With our financial times as they are and so much political issues on the front page, perhaps here is another time when every American should listen in and be reminded why we have been and will remain one of the worlds SuperPowers. As it’s often said, it’s as much the size as the way you use it, and Americans have been using their size and influence for a lot of good, for a very long time. Yes, we certainly stumble from time to time, but we remain pretty damn impressive in the eyes of the world, especially those that remember all we have done for them.
Hats off to every hard working American that is out there working or trying to find a job. We’ll be back on top again; let’s just not forgot what got us there and not fail to be the country that everyone else can count on!
That is the reported ratio. 98% of Americans will be expected to pay significantly higher taxes so just 2% of the population doesn’t have to pay their share. Doesn’t sound very balanced to me, but then again I’m not a part of that 2%. They were paying their share back in the Clinton years and not only didn’t they all go broke and loose their businesses, the country was thriving to the point that the Nation Debt was erased and we had a balance.
Every noted economist has pointed out that such a tax increase on the 98% will result in a continued slow down on the economy. I can’t speak to how but I know that if I’m paying out an additional $3,500 that immediately cuts out $3,500 I’ll be pumping into the economy. Multiply that on a graduated scale downward and I don’t think that 2% can mount a buying binge large enough to compare. Seems to be proven by all those corporations and independent business owners that keep holding onto their cash and not hiring anyone. The last figure I heard was there were more than one trillion dollars being banked by these corporations and if Citi Corp is any indication, some are still laying off employee’s despite a growing housing market with construction now topping 24% in some sectors.
In as much as the Republicans put some significant money into the election without success, this model of supporting the wealthy and allowing them to spend to their hearts content doesn’t seem to be working out and it would seem a fair bet that with 98% of the population being blindsided with those kinds of taxes, the Republican platform for the next election is going to have to include gold bars raining down from the heavens if they really think they are going to win over a majority of the voters.
With the top Tea Party Hero abandoning the Senate to boost his income from the normal $176,000 a year salary for a new one that exceeds $1,000,000 per year … well, I don’t know about you but I can hardly blame him, after all, everybody wants a raise now and then and while he’s giving up a medical plan that sets the gold standard (Congress & the Senate), I think that little $800,000 raise will probably fill in a lot of gaps. At least he won’t have to scrape too much to make the co-pay on his new medical plan.
It’s pretty obvious to even the least concerned that it’s going to take tax increases, budget cuts, and alterations to many of our programs to pull this back into the black. We Americans have faced this before and through a reasonable spread of approaches, we can put the house back in order but everyone is going to have to compromise, pay their fair share, and be willing to make changes. We’re still stuck in a battle of ego’s and that’s not going to solve anything. I’ll certainly survive the trip over the fiscal cliff, but there are one heck of a lot of Americans that won’t and putting people in a deeper financial funk isn’t going to help anyone over the long term.
One party keeps bellowing for leadership, but they have forgotten that there is a need for followership as well. Without it, nothing changes and without change, we’re going to be stuck in this mess for a lot longer than four more years ….
Black Friday has come and gone and today, which might be better known as Green Monday has come and at the time of this writing, is nearly past … along with an approximate $1.5 Billion dollars in sales to promote that single greatest Anglo Saxon holiday, Christmas. There will be plenty of articles reminding us of the real meaning of Christmas for those that are a believer in that particular religion(s) and for others, well, it’s just a great holiday to celebrate and give gifts of love and affection to anyone and everyone they know. Green Monday? It certainly represents one thing that most of us aren’t particularly fond of and that’s dealing with the throng of crowds of rude and inconsiderate people, pushing, shoving, cursing, and completely miserable as they fulfill those holiday “requirements” of love.
So what’s the downside of Green Monday? Well, consider this. As the economy swings towards on line shopping, some retailers have already figured out how remarkably unimportant an actual store is. After all, has anyone actually been to a Amazon Store? Not me and not you either, in fact when you consider just how much faith and trust is put into the value and qualify of merchandise we can acquire with a few keystrokes, well, I wonder how many things are bought, are a complete disappointment, and are never returned because it’s just too much trouble?
Of course, internet shopping is just a repetition on an old theme. The original Sears Roebuck catalog featured the exact same thing … just not quite as fast and of course returns could take …. Months or longer! Of course, during that time having a dollar to one’s name was quite impressive and people were not quite as willing to waste them or just toss a bad purchase.
Fortunately Amazon has seen the wisdom of a healthy and considerate return policy, which like the old Sears Roebuck theme of “satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back” captured the imagination and respect of the country. We’ll be watching Amazon to see how long they maintain this policy or will they eventually see their own demise the same way Sears did, the victim of perhaps a few too many Professional Sears Customers, that knew how to play the system to get a lot more than their money’s worth. And one has to wonder how long Americans will be fascinated with this new phenomenon before they realize they don’t get to put their hands on the merchandise before they buy. Imagine doing that with your next car purchase …. And homes? Sears used to sell houses through the catalog … oh yes, anything you can imagine is possible.
Or maybe … just maybe as we go through all these trends, one more small trend might emerge. The trend to remember this season is about the birth of one small child and how profound his birth, life, and death so completely changed an entire civilization.
If I could have just one wish it would be for all mankind and their respective religious beliefs to have this time of year to celebrate one simple thing. A thing without religious significance, without religious rules and laws, without restrictions or directions. Just one very simple thing …..
Love
I've been thinking about this subject for quite some time, reminded of it by the all too rapid events shortly after 9/11 and again by watching the stories unfold concerning the now former CIA director and General Allan. There are a number of issues at stake and needless to say, there are counter opinions to each opinion. As a former military officer, I certainly understand the need for those in powerful positions and/or positions of great sensitivity to be more closely scrutinized simply due to the very nature of their work. As the tid bits continue to unfold it is obvious that the military's once stanch stand on mixing civilians into military affairs has chanced considerably. Simply putting civilians into former military roles simply for the sake of budget balancing also seems to have put the emphasis on budgets rather than where it belongs … national security.
The military is often put into a balancing act of trying to do it’s job while also being cordial to the many powerful civilian’s it must accommodate. The considerable clout that politicians, friends of politicians and reported friends of politicians can easily get in the way of the military simply doing it’s job. Time and time again we see military officers, staff, etc. getting caught up doing what appears to be stupid things, all in the name of “good civilian relationships”. You may recall a certain Navy submarine commander that did a rapid blow of the boat, causing it to shoot up out of the water, and crush an unsuspecting Japanese fishing vessel that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, all to impress some civilian passengers that could have influence on the Navy appropriations. There are hundreds and hundreds of these situations over past years.
The most recent individual, probably way too involved in military affairs even has gone so far as to assume she had some kind of diplomatic immunity and should be able to have press members arrested from trampling upon the lawn of her home. Now where did she get that silly idea? Apparently the military personnel she was dealing with made her an “Honorary Ambassador” and she thought it was real … or thought it was something she could claim to get what she wanted. Either sounds equally possible and no less stupid.
Military officers have a standard of conduct that they are to adhere to at all times and the two generals in question obviously stepped widely over the line. Regardless of their brilliance in battle, their conduct in the civilian world is inexcusable and as that friend often reminds me “the cemetery is full of indispensable people”. Either we hold them accountable or we lessen the expectations of our military leaders.
Lastly, there should be a penalty for any civilian that openly tries to take advantage of military personnel, regardless of rank or position. Whether you consider it an act of sedition or or a simple con job, the civilians that engage in such activities must be held accountable, otherwise we give them license try and try again until they are successful.
In any case, this is yet another embarrassing and regretful matter that the military will have to clean up and at this point I will guess that a few more, perhaps a few dozen more officers out there could suffer from career ending discovery. Sadly, we can only wonder how many more have slipped through the cracks of the UCMJ and given others the impression that “it’s not against the law until you get caught”.
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